Chlorogenic acid (CGA), also named caffetannic acid and with the chemical name of 3-O-caffeoylquinic acid, is a carboxyl phenolic acid consisting of caffeic acid and quinic acid.
Chlorogenic acid, a metabolic product of aerobic respiration in plants, is a main active component distributing in many traditional Chinese materials, together with fruits and vegetables, possessing many biological activities, such as cardiovascular protective effects, antioxidation, anti-ultraviolet and anti-radiation, anti-mutagenesis and anti-cancer, antibacterial action, antivirus, reducing blood-lipid and blood-sugar, immunoregulation properties, etc. Chlorogenic acid is widely used in medicinal and chemical arts, as well as the field of food.
Lupus erythematosus (LE) is a typical autoimmunity connective tissue disorders, particularly among 15-40 years of females. Lupus erythematosus is a spectrum of disease, including discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE), subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus (SCLE), systemic lupus eythematosus (SLE), lupus erythematosus profundus (LEP), neonatal lupus erythematosus (NLE), drug-induced lupus (DIL), and so on.
Currently, lupus erythematosus is treated in clinical by mainly using antimalarials (such as hydroxychloroquine), thalidomide or a small dose of oral hormone. At present, medicines for treatment of lupus erythematosus in traditional Chinese medicine includes compound rehmannia decoction, composing of Rehmanniadride, gypsum, Caulis lonicerae stem, that has effects of eliminating heat by nourishing yin and cooling blood, and mainly is used for treating patients with mild and moderate active stage of systemic lupus erythematosus; also includes lupus pills, whose formula contains a dozen of crude medicines, such as Lonicera japonica Thunb, Forsythia suspense, Taraxacummongolicum, Coptischinensis, Rehmanniaglutinosa, Rheum officinaleBaill, Glycyrrhizauralensis, centipede, and others, having effects of clearing away the heat evil and expelling superficial evils, cooling blood, promoting blood circulation by removing blood stasis, increasing cellular immune function, improving disease resistance of organisms, decreasing circulation immune complex, and said pills are used for treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus. However, compound formula of Chinese medicines has complicated constituents, and active ingredients are not confirmed, and the mechanism of action is not definite, with a certain potential safety hazard. Thus, there is an urgent need for singular effective constituent used for treatment of lupus erythematosus.